Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Binge-eating adolescents are more
likely to use marijuana and other drugs and become depressed,
according to a study that suggests doctors be aware of their
teen patients eating habits to help avert these issues.

Teens and young adults who reported being binge-eaters or
overeaters were almost twice as likely to start using marijuana
than those without the eating disorder, research published today
in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine found. Binge
eaters and overeaters were 1.59 to 1.89 times more likely to use
other drugs, researchers said.

People who binge eat can be more impulsive, a trait that
may lead them to drug use, said Kendrin Sonneville, the study’s
lead author and director of nutrition training in the Division
of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Boston Children’s
Hospital. More research is needed to look at how to better
identify and treat kids who overeat or binge eat, she said.

“We don’t need to only worry about the eating habits of
overweight and obese youth,” Sonneville, who is also an
instructor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, said in a
Dec. 7 telephone interview. “Overeating and binge eating can be
problematic for all youth. We should be cognizant of the eating
habits of all youth separate from their weight.”

The study focused on 16,882 boys and girls ages 9 to 15 in
1996. They were given questionnaires every 12 to 24 months from
1996 to 2005 to assess their eating.

Girls were more likely to engage in binge eating, while
boys were more likely to overeat, the study found.

Those who engaged in binge eating were more likely to be
overweight or obese and have symptoms of depression, while
overeating didn’t have the same associations, the authors said.
Neither form of eating was associated with starting binge
drinking. Binge drinking is common among all types of teens so
any association may disappear because many teens are engaging in
the behavior, Sonneville said.